How do you relate to God?
 

Which of these Characteristics of God do you relate to: and why?
Has there been a time in your life when one aspect was more relevant than the others?

Eternal (in and beyond time, without beginning or end) - Psalm 90:2
Gracious (giving beyond measure, from love) - 1 John 4:8
Holy (sinless, and opposed to sin) - Leviticus 19:2
Immutable (unchanging) - Malachi 3:6
Just (fair, and intent on making justice) - Deuteronomy 32:4
Merciful (overflowing with active compassion) - Psalm 145:9
Omnipotent (unlimited power) - Genesis 17:1
Omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) - Jeremiah 23:24
Omniscient (knowing all) - John 21:17

Maybe there are a few I forgot?

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

I most relate to being omniscient and also humility. :king

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

Maybe my question wasn't clear, How do you most see Him, not how do you think he sees you (yeah, right) :snapout

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

Just and merciful, for there have been many times I needed those two characteristics the most.

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

Just (fair, and intent on making justice) - Deuteronomy 32:4

This is how I relate to God.

Blessings, Rhoni

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

gracious and merciful

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

I have to say most of the things that define God are beyond my understanding.

Eternal - I can't understand something with no beginning.

Holy - I find reasons why my sins are not so big or non-existent.

Immutable - Every time I have more information I realize how much I need to change, so the idea of unchanging is beyond me.

Just - This is probably the most difficult for me. I will never understand how god's justice works. You can talk about judgment days and all of that but deep down everyone feels it is unjust when the murderer goes unpunished - unless it is us.

Merciful - If I understood mercy maybe I would understand justice. somehow I think they must be related, but usually we tend to think as one to the exclusion of the other.

Omnipresent - I really don't understand or relate to this, probably like most people I always feel God is with me and because I am so focused on me I don't think about him being anywhere else. I can't watch TV and hear listen to what someone else is saying so trying to comprehend a God who can take in the prayers on millions at one time is beyond my understanding

Omniscient - how does one with finite knowledge imagine complete knowledge?

Gracious - A God who in spite of my inability to understand Him or offer Him anything in return, loves me with a perfect love, and would give up his life for me - - truly mind blowing.

Why would I want to serve a God who was no bigger than I could comprehend? He is truly wonderful beyond comparison.

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

Wow, that's deep...
and I thought this would be a light-hearted thread :couch

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

I relate to God as my Heavenly Father.

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

I so agree with this statement. Becoming a mom has helped me relate a little more to God and how I love and also when I discipline my children. Also, after losing my dad 2 years ago, I've relied more on my Heavenly Father than I ever have.

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

I love this, and this is how I relate as well, it seems like there are people who see Him as a Judge who wants to throw away the key, or as Monty Hall, who they can "make a deal" with. I agree with both of you, that He is Loving, perfect, Daddy...

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

Good list, good thread. I'd probably add the following attributes...

He is incomprehensible
He is self-sufficient
He is self-existing
His infinitude
His intelligence/Wisdom (not the same as omniscience)
His faithfulness
His justice
His grace
His love
His holiness
His sovereignty

I hope I'm not presumptous to suggest a great little book that talks about this subject; A.W. Tozer's classic "The Knowledge of the Holy". It's only about a 100 pages and an easy read with short chapters, more of a devotional than a theological treatise. But very theological and Tozer is a wordsmith who is expert at this craft.

I think for me, at least in the last few years, I've related to God in terms of His love and His justice. I've spent alot of time thinking about the commands to love God and love others as the foundation of spiritual, Godly living and how this love for others and God is so powerfully and effectively demonstrated in real life when we show justice to the unfortunate of the world.

In the last couple of weeks I've been learning about the immutability of God without even knowing I was thinking about it until now. I've come to understand how my Pentecostal background has caused me to think in far too emotional terms in my decision making and how God is unchanging and His principles are immutable no matter how we feel about living them. Perhaps that goes to holiness as well, and his sovereignty.

One thing I learned in the Tozer book that stuck with me is the definition of an attribute. It's not a characteristic or a quality of God where he is more of one than the other, like we tend to be. Human attributes tend to be proportional and dynamic; I can be more loving at times than other times and I can grow in my attribute of justice. But God doesn't grow in anything and He is equally all things at once. He is equally love and equally holy and equally just and he is absolutely all those things at once. He doesn't grow in love, he is love. He doesn't become more or less just, he is abosolutely just all the time. His ways are not our ways.

It's staggering and incomprehensible to us. Well, it is to me.

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

its funny, I start every prayer thanking God for his grace and mercy.

really those are the things I first think of.

Re: How do you relate to God?
 

Very well said, but I would agree with you,
Completely out of my realm of "thinkage"... :hmmm